[mikp]

hm,
indiegogo strikes again.

Soundflux
taobao

 

[MIBUK]

I would stay away from crowd funding for TWS. Especially now that the tech is maturing. In my experience, they take too long, don’t deliver or deliver an inferior product or out of date as they’ve taken so long. Save your money for models on the market or wait. It will save you a lot of pain and frustration

 

[mikp]

I would stay away from crowd funding for TWS. Especially now that the tech is maturing. In my experience, they take too long, don’t deliver or deliver an inferior product or out of date as they’ve taken so long. Save your money for models on the market or wait. It will save you a lot of pain and frustration

agree, that is why im checking the chinese sites for the new qualcomm tws, but none yet.

 

[Peddler]

Point taken regarding the fact that a cable is a cable - and I totally agree.

I currently have a couple of pairs of true wireless headphones and I rate them both very highly - the Apple Airpods and the SoundPEATS Q32's. Both sound very good in my opinion but both also have their compromises - namely limited battery life, occasional dropouts (although in all fairness they're both rather excellent for not suffering with this too much) and, perhaps most importantly, the lack of advanced codec support/sound quality.

The Airpods have a wonderful open sound which is extremely impressive given their size but in truth, you wouldn't have to spend very much at all to better them with a set of wired IEM's. Apple basically cut off the sub-bass completely but offer a rather nice upper bass to compensate for it. I can't help thinking that one of the biggest issues when it comes to audiophile sound quality and TWS type headphones is that the electronics are basically replicated twice - two amplifiers, two circuit boards, two batteries, etc. When you think about how Etymotic take the care to match left and right earphones - I can't imaging the companies producing these headphones ever going to that much trouble - their assumption would be that sound quality would take a back seat to other features such as battery life, range and features.

I truly believe that TWS type IEM's are going to be pretty much the future of portable listening but I also truly believe that they will never beat wired when it comes to sound quality. The bluetooth cable represents an excellent 'halfway house' and the only way you can use your favourite IEM's (that feature detachable cable) in wireless mode with truly acceptable sound quality, battery life and range.

However - there's something definitely cool about have iem's with no wires at all. I love my Airpods and rave about them to anyone who's interested (and many who are not!).

 

[WaveRider69]

Audio Technica ATH-CKR7TW
Better battery life (6hr) than the previous two choices. 11mm drivers. Major HiFi had some really great things to say about these. BT 5.0

Thanks for the recommendation bro, I want these after seeing them anyone know where to buy them or when they go on sale?

 

[Firevortex]

hm,
indiegogo strikes again.

Soundflux
taobao

damn for $40USD i might just buy 1 and compare it with my jabra 65t.

 

[Hoplite]

Anyone tried the new Tribit X1 yet? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...&pf_rd_r=YCHZW8WA605NFDGGWFQE#customerReviews

Their bluetooth speaker is bang for the bucks. Curious how do the wireless earbuds fare

 

[Firevortex]

OK just want to add my 2c on the Jabra elite 65ts. i got them last week. been using it mainly for calls and only had time today to really sit down and do a critical listen/compare.
unfortunately, SQ is worse than my $28 soundPeats Bluetooth earbuds I've been using and hoping to replace. I've tried all the tips that came with the Jabra elite 65t and had a perfect seal from the largest silicon tip.
been an audiophile for so long its really easy to tell SQ apart, since the lower SQ headphone would always sound like its underwater when you do an A+B listening session. so clarity wise there is nothing you can do to make it better.

To my ear out of the box 65ts has a sloped sound signature with severely lacking bass and bright highs. now i haven't had experience with other TWE before and have limited experience with IEMs my previous pair was an ER4P and Bose QC20. The SQ coming out
of the 65ts is about as good or slightly better than the QC20 and that's not encouraging. after tweaking it with the EQ on the Jabra app and the 12band EQ on my poweramp app i was able to change the signature and made it somewhat bearable. without EQ 65t just isn't good enough
for me to keep and I need it to connect to my computer sometimes which would be a pain to change EQ every time. i'm not sure if its due to AptX codec of the soundPeats or the extra large drivers but the SQ difference is like ER4P vs QC20 or my K1000 vs harman kardon. Guess i'll wait for the Sennheiser.

TWE SQ just isn't there yet atm. i'm still coming to terms of how a $28 BT earbuds are able to beat out a $200 TWE earbuds (even though I know they probably cost $15 to make from the Shenzhen factories). i really tried to like the 65ts but SQ is a big let down.

Lastly, the connection, call quality is very solid with 65t and there is no lag what so ever when streaming youtube or watching a video.

 

[Silvermane]

Damn Firevortex... that's very disheartening to read...
I have just taken the plunge on the 65t and should receive them later this week.
Ordered them through the Jabra site so hoping they honor their 30day return policy in case I don't like the SQ

 

[Firevortex]

Damn Firevortex... that's very disheartening to read...
I have just taken the plunge on the 65t and should receive them later this week.
Ordered them through the Jabra site so hoping they honor their 30day return policy in case I don't like the SQ

well, Jabra elite 65t is considered "good" SQ wise in the TWE department that's saying a lot about the market atm. If you really need a TWE i guess it isn't a bad choice?


Correct me if I'm wrong but i used all Flac files to do the critical listening so it probably made more of a difference with AptX codec?

 

[sly_in_the_sky]

I had plenty of high-end Iems and personnally, I find the 65T to have a respectable SQ. I find them to be well balanced with a nice soundstage. I just use the equalizer a little bit to adapt the sound to my personnal tastes (mainly to low down the higher medium/lower treble transition) but even if yes, they are not audiophile standards IEM, I find them very pleasing and to my ears, don't have big flaws except the fact that when there's a lot of music information with plenty of instruments, the sound tends to become a little bit confused and muddy... For outside, when the focus is not only on music, they do the job nicely...

Now sound signature is also a matter of preferences and tastes....

 

[Firevortex]

I had plenty of high-end Iems and personnally, I find the 65T to have a respectable SQ. I find them to be well balanced with a nice soundstage. I just use the equalizer a little bit to adapt the sound to my personnal tastes (low down the higher medium/lower treble transition) but even if yes, they are not audiophile standards IEM, I find them very pleasing and to my ears, don't have big flaws except the fact that when there's a lot of music information with plenty of instruments, the sound tends to become a little bit confused and muddy... For outside, when the concentration is not only on music, they do the job nicely...

Now sound signature is also a matter of preferences and tastes....

Like i said i have very limited experience with IEMs my main rig is the K1000 driven by speaker amps. So the only thing i can compare to atm is the $28 soundpeats. bass on the soundpeats is tight and deep while 65t sounds lose and frayed. there is a sparkle on the treble with the soundpeats while 65t just sounds dull. vocals sounds more natural smooth dynamic on the soundpeats while 65t sounds artificial lifeless. i don't even want to go into separation its just sound muddy with an orchestra. To me, all those properties point to SQ issue with lower quality drivers or codec compared to soundpeats. i'm not pleased with the soundpeats either thus i wanted an upgrade.

there is now an audible hiss coming from the left earbud of the 65t when I play music. could be faulty?

 

[sly_in_the_sky]

Like i said i have very limited experience with IEMs my main rig is the K1000 driven by speaker amps. So the only thing i can compare to atm is the $28 soundpeats. bass on the soundpeats is tight and deep while 65t sounds lose and frayed. there is a sparkle on the treble with the soundpeats while 65t just sounds dull. vocals sounds more natural smooth dynamic on the soundpeats while 65t sounds artificial lifeless. i don't even want to go into separation its just sound muddy with an orchestra. To me, all those properties point to SQ issue with lower quality drivers or codec compared to soundpeats. i'm not pleased with the soundpeats either thus i wanted an upgrade.

there is now an audible hiss coming from the left earbud of the 65t when I play music. could be faulty?

Perhaps your soundpeats are better than the 65T, possible...

Concerning the hiss, I think that yes it's faulty. I had one pair of 65t that I gave to my sister and a pair of 65t active for me now and none of them had hiss issues...

 

[david8613]

anyone compare the sound quality of the sony wf-1000x vs the newer sony wf sp700? I had the sony wf 1000x in my rotation more than once in the past, I really enjoyed the sound but I would return them or sell them because of the low battery time, and disconnect when outdoors. I just purchased another sony wf 1000x because I missed the sound sig I guess and size and fit. I am just wondering if the newer sony wf sp700 will be better sounding at all? better connection? I like that it has waterproofing for gym use but that case looks very cheap and bulky. any thoughts from those who had and used both models?

 

[taylor]

I've got a set of the Jabra Elite Active 65t arriving tomorrow, will post my impressions. I'm seeing very mixed impressions of their SQ there. I'm coming from a very old pair of Shure E2C IEMs, and I found one person who had done a head-to-head comparison and said the Jabras are a bit better sounding. Honestly though for the type of usage I'm considering, a minor reduction in SQ would be acceptable, as long as it's not garbage.

Right now my hesitation is on latency - I bought the Jabras thinking that BT 5.0 would alleviate that, but the Rtings.com review ranks them (and most other 'true wireless') as being pretty terrible on latency. At least half the time I use these, it's going to be paired to an Element smart TV with Bluetooth 4.2 (can't find info on which codecs the TV supports) watching movies. So my priority will be to do some testing with latency to see for myself.

Basically I do 1-2 hour sessions riding a stationary bike. Current audio solution is SPDIF out from the TV to a Maverick D1 DAC and then a 3.5mm extension to Shure E2Cs, which sounds great but there's no good way to secure the cord as I move around on the bike. The main thing I want is wireless with dual pairing (so they can be paired to my phone and the TV and just play whichever, without re-doing the pairing process)

I'm having pre-emptive buyer's remorse because of the ~1/4 second lag that some people are reporting... We'll see what happens tomorrow, I'll test them with the TV and my phone from various sources

New Comply Foam Tips coming!

I’ve had the Jabra Elite Active 65t for over one month now and very happy with these earphones. Only downside is lag with YouTube vids. No lag with Netflix or Amazon Prime video or streaming video from home network PC on iPhone 7 or iPad. I use the provided large size silicone tips and get good sound, albeit with slightly difficult fit.

I just tested new Comply foam tips being developed specifically for the 65t and Active 65t which appear to replace (or supplement) the older “truly wireless” foam tips. These new Comply foam tips were provided to me in Small, Medium and Large sizes just last week so I assume they will be offered for sale in those sizes too. They all fit in the charging case and performed very similarly to other Comply foam tips. I found them to be more comfortable than the provided silicone tips and about equal or better ambient sound isolation with good sound across the frequency spectrum.

Something to look forward to...

Any updates?